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What has happened to French rugby?

Fatigue, poor tactics and a lack of youth take toll on France

I
t is getting close to midnight on Friday and outside the changing rooms at Stade Ernest-Wallon they sing and chant. No beers, no champagne — just the euphoria of victory for 200 Perpignan fans who have seen their team win in Toulouse, their first championship victory in this city for 31 years. The fans have a 128-mile journey home but they are in no rush.

Inside the stadium, the 27-year-old James Hook is doing his first interview in French, which is appropriate because after a season and a half in this country, it is his first away victory in the Top 14 championship. He, too, is joyous. “I love it here,” he says. “The supporters, the club, everyone is so passionate about our Top 14 games. You feel alive when you play rugby here.”

But if the Top 14 has been a godsend to Hook and many other overseas players earning